Fluid cooling device



July 1, 1941 H. k. JoHNsGN Erm. 2,247,338k

.FLUID COOLNG DEVICE Filed Dec. 1?., 1958 Patented July l, 1941 FLUID COOLING DEVICE Herman K. Johnson and Carl V. La Rue, Grand Haven, Mich., assignors to The Bastian-Blessing'Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of -Illinois Application December 12, 1938, Serial No. 245,125

8 Claims.

This invention relates to va water cooling device and particularly to one eiectve to cool Water rapidly. It has for one object therefor to provide means in which the temperature control is effective promptly in response to the flow of liquid through the apparatus. Another object is to provide a means of cooling liquid within a restricted space. Another object is to provide in a cooler for iiowing liquid a coil through which the liquid to be cooled passes and in .which the coil is located within a jacket or housing in which the refrigerant itself expands. Another object is to provide a water cooler so proportioned and shaped that it may be used in a soda fountain and may, if desired, be positioned adjacent the syrup rail so as to cool the syrup jars.

Other objects will appear from time to time throughout thespecii'lcatlon and the claims.

The invention is illustrated more or less diagrammatically in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevation with and parts broken away;

Figure 2 is an end view with certain of the pipes shown in section taken at line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an end elevation looking from the lef-t of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a transverse vertical crosssection taken at line 4 4 of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is an elevation of the iinned tubing removed from the housing;

parts in section Figure 6 lis an elevation showing'the splasher or spreader strip.

Like parts are designated by like characters throughout the specification and the drawing.

i is a pre-cooler tube. It is hollow and is associated with a second tube 2. One or more connections 3 join the two tubes. One or more solid supporting members 4 may be .attached to the two tubes as spacing and supporting means.

Refrigerant is intended to pass through the two tubes I and 2. 5 is a refrigerant inlet connection through which refrigerant is conducted to the interior of the tube 2. The conduit 5 may be seated in the end closure 6 of the member 2. 2 is provided at its opposite' end with an end closure 1. It is to be noticed that refrigerant entering the tube 2 through the conduit 5 must pass at least some distance from its point of entrance before it reaches one oi the connecting tubes 3, through which it may leave the tube 2 in passing to the tube I. 8 is a suction pipe or connection secured to the end closure 9 of the tube l. Through this suction connection refrigshown herewith is arranged for cooling sweetv water and soda water in connection with a soda fountain or any other place where it is desired to cool both materials. The sweet water enters through a pipe II and this pipe is arranged to provide a loop I2 within the housing I. It passes out of the housing at I3 and through ka curved pipe I4 to-a connection I5. which is flattened as at I6. From that pointlit is discharged into the nned tube. 'I'his tube has a relatively ilat side l'I and a. curved side made up of a plurality of fins I8. A discharge member I9 is associated with the tube I'I, I8 and carries the sweet water out of it. Suitable closures are provided for the finned tube I'I, I8, of which one is shown in Figures 1 and 5 and is numbered 20. One or more positioning bands 2l may be used to hold and position the finned tubes. Within the finned `tube I'l, I8 may be positioned a splasher or spreader strip 22 -having a plurality of outwardly inclined members 23. These may be formed in any manner. As here shown, they are punched bodily out of the strip 22. They serve to deflect the water and to prevent its passing undisturbed through the nned tube.

A similar arrangement may be provided for the soda water. It enters through a tube 2t, which may or may not have a loop formed in it.

-It passes outward from the housing I as at 25 and is connected by a curved portion 26 to an Ainlet connection Z1, which is flattened as at 28,

and through which it is discharged into a iinned tube having aY hat side 29 and ns 3l). Heads or ends 3! may be provided for the tube, which may containa spreader strip such as that shown in Figure 6 and has one or more spacingand holding bands 2i positioned about it. It has an outlet connection 33 corresponding to the sweetwater outlet connection I9.

A pocket 34 may be positioned within the housing or tube I and, as shown in Figures 2 and 4, itis between the sweet water and soda water entering connections II and 24, respectively.

A thermostat bulb 35 is positioned within this pocket. Because of its location close to the water inlets, it is promptly affected by the change in the temperature of the entering water. A pocket' or socket member 36 may be secured on the outside of the tube i or?, and a thermostat bulb 3l may be positioned within it. This thermostat bulb is preferably connected to a switch which operates inresponse to variations of the thermostat to control a teil-tale light. This light will be located Where the operator can see it; and in ordinary use, the operation of the light will be controlled by a relay. The differential of this relay will be such that should the water Warm up beyond a predetermined temperature, due, for example, to failure of the mechanism or to improper adjustment of the cooler, the tell-tale light Will be turned on and the operator will be warned that some adjustment is necessary.

Although there is shown an operative form of the device, it will be understood that many changes in the form, shape and arrangement of parts might be made Without departing from the spirit of this invention, and it is wished that this showing be taken as in a sense diagrammatic. In particular, the device might be larger or smaller than that shown, and it might be associated with other mechanism. In one form it may be associated with a soda fountain; and when so used, itis adapted to cool the syrup rail and its contents; and also because of its location at that point the water-both sweet and soda-which it cools is cooled without waste of space 'which occurs where the cooling coils are located in the storage space. vGenerally, in the past, in installations of this general type the cooling mechanism, including the expansion coli, is placed in a counter or show case and the space occupied by the coil assembly is not available for storage of material. In the applicants device, because of its construction, that space is saved. This construction also saves space because, instead of cooling a body of brine, for example, then circulating it past the incoming water to cool the latter, the coil through which the entering water passes is located in a jacket or container in which the refrigerant expands and thus abstracts heat from the water flowing through the coil. This has an advantage both in efficiency and in a saving f space.

The use and operation of this invention are as follows:

Ihe apparatus, as shown, is installed in any desired system. It may be used merely to cool drinking water. In that case, there would be no soda-water system. Or it may, as shown, be used to cool both sweet water and soda water. In that case, it would ordinarily be associated with a soda fountain; and, if so, it might or might not be arranged to cool some part or parts of the soda fountain assembly. However it is used, some fluid to be cooled enters a pipe through one of the main containers and passes into the other. It is cooled in passing. The refrigerant is conducted into the jacket of the last chamber through which the fluid to be cooled passes. It is expanded in that chamber, and in the form shown herewith is expanded around the nned pipe 4so that the fluid which is flowing through the system is dispersed in the ns, and a wide area of the fins is available for rapid cooling by its wide-spread contact with the expanding refrigerant in the jacket and about the finned tube. The refrigerant is further expanded in the second chamber to which it passes, which is the first chamber through which the entering water passes to be cooled.

A thermo-static control is provided which operates in response to the eiect of the temperature variations upon the member 35. Because this member is provided, as shown particularly in Figure 4, close to the pipes through which both types ofA water enter and, therefore, when the relatively uncooled water enters, the moment that it starts to flow past the thermostat 35, the latter is affected by the temperature; and if the water is warm, an almost instant change in the operation of the refrlgerating mechanism occurs. Because of this, the system is completely and instantly responsive to temperature changes in the entering water; vand a rapid cooling is thus assured.

The refrigerant which enters through the passage 5 is controlled by a thermostatic expansion valve, and this valve is controlled by the thermostatic bulb 35. Because of the location of the bulb, as above mentioned, experience has shown that the thermostatic valve will open when only a single glass of water has been drawn. 'Ihe location of the thermostatic bulb permits this extremely rapid transfer of heat from the water to the bulb, and hence the rapid actuation of the thermostatic expansion valve. This arrangement will give the operator water just; as cold in the rst glass as later. After the first three or four ounces have been drawn off in one typical installation the water temperature wil be down to 38 or 40 degrees Fahrenheit, regardless of the temperature of the incoming water. The rapid action is also aided by the fact that it is pos- -sible to get a very wide area of contact between the refrigerant and the finned tubes which carry the water. Not only is a wide area provided by the shape of the nned tubes, but the sprayer or distributor 22, 23 compels the water to pass through the corrugations and prevents it from flowing straight out through the constricted discharge opening, and compels the water to flow over a large amount of cooled wall surface.

Also, the construction shown avoids frost formation on the suctionline of the refrigerant. 'I'his is due to the fact that the gas entering through the connection 5 must pass at least to the first tube 3 before it can enter the tube I, and it must travel again from there some distance before it reaches the suction outlet 8. Since the warm4 incoming water is passing through that part of the cooler tube l, the Vvapor in the tube tends to be very dry and is dry as it leaves the cooler. The effect is thus that the water is pre-cooled in the tube I and is nally cooled in the tube 2 as it passes through the finned tubes. This pre-cooling of the water also vaporizes the refrigerant gas and assists in avoiding the frosting of the suction line above mentioned.

We claim:

1. In combination in a cooling system, means defining a primary cooling chamber and a secondary cooling chamber, and passage-forming means joining the two, a refrigerant inlet to said secondary chamber, a refrigerant outlet from said primary chamber, a fluid passage member extending through said primary chamber and adapted to carry fluid to be cooled, a fluid passage member positioned within said secondary cham-ber and in communication with said rst mentioned fluid passage member, there being positioned within said second fluid passage a fluid spreader, said spreader being positioned along one side of said second fluid passage and shaped to direct fluid across said passage and away from the wall along which said spreader is positioned.

2. In combination in a cooling system, means dening a primary cooling chamber and a secondary cooling chamber, and passage-forming means joining the two, a refrigerant inlet to said secondary chamber, a refrigerant outlet from said Iprimary chamber, a fluid passage member extending through said primary chamber and adaptedk to carry iiuid to becooled, a fluid passage member positioned within said secondary chamber and in -ally unribbed side, Vthere being positioned within said second uid passage a fluid spreader.

3. In combination in a cooling system, means defining a primary cooling chamber and a secondary cooling chamber, and passage-forming means joining the two, a refrigerant inlet to said secondary chamber, a refrigerant outlet from said primary chamber, a fluid passage member extending through said primary chamber and adapted to carry uid to be cooled, a iiuid passage member -positioned within said secondary chamber and in communication with said first mentioned uid passage member, said second fluid passage member having a plurality of hollow ribs, there being positioned within said second uid passage a fluid spreader, spreading means on said spreader positioned Within the path of incoming fluid and adapted to direct said fluid into said hollow ribs.

4. In combination in a cooling system, means defining a primary cooling chamber and a secondary cooling chamber, and passage forming means joining the two, a refrigerant inlet to said secondary chamber, a refrigerant outlet from said primary chamber, a, uid passage member extending through said primary chamber and adapted to carry fluid to be cooled, a fluid passage member positioned Within said secondary chamber and in communication with said first mentioned iiuid passage member, said second fluid passage member having a plurality of hollow ribs, there being positioned Within said second fluid passage a fluid spreader, and a thermostat positioned within said primary chamber and adjacent said fluid passage where the latter enters the primary chamber.

5. In combination in a cooling assembly, means defining a primary cooler and a separate secondary cooler, a plurality of passage-forming members joining them, a refrigerant inlet passage connected to said secondary cooler, a refrigerant outlet connection connected to said primary cooler, a plurality of liquid conduits positioned Within said primary cooler, and a plurality of liquid conduits in said secondary cooler, each of said last mentioned conduits being in communication with one of said first mentioned liquid conduits positioned in said primary cooler.

6. In combination in a. cooling assembly, means dening a primary cooler and a secondary separate cooler, a plurality of passage-forming members joining them, a refrigerant inlet passage connected to said secondary cooler, a. refrigerant outlet connection connected to said primary cooler, a plurality of liquid conduits positioned within said primary cooler, and a plurality of liquid conduits positioned in said secondary cooler, each of said last mentioned liquid conduits being in communication with one of said first mentioned liquid conduits positioned in said primary cooler, a thermostatic element positioned in the primary cooler adjacent the inlet end of said liquid conduits therein, and adapted to be connected to a thermostatic valve for controlling the flow of refrigerant to and from said coolers.

7. In combination in -a cooling assembly, means defining a primary cooler and a secondary cooler, a plurality of passage-forming members joining them, a refrigerant inlet passage connected to said secondary cooler at a point separated from said passages, a refrigerant outlet connection connected to said lprimary cooler, at a point separated from said passage-forming members, a plurality of liquid conduits positioned Within said primary cooler, and a plurality of liquid conduits positioned in said secondary cooler, each of said first mentioned conduits being in communication with one of said first mentioned conduits positioned in said primary cooler, the liquid passages in the secondary cooler provided with hollow fins, a liquid spreader positioned in each of said finned passages extending longitudinally of vsaid passages and lying Within the path of entering liquid.

8. In combination in a cooling assembly, means defining a primary and a secondary cooling container, a plurality of passage-forming members joining them, a refrigerant inlet passage connected to said secondary cooler at a point separated from said passages, a refrigerant outlet connection connected to said primary cooler at a point separated from said passage-forming members, a plurality of liquid conduits positioned within and extending beyond said primary container, a plurality of liquid passage members positioned in said secondary cooler, each in communication with one of said first mentioned passages positioned in said primary cooler, the liquid passages in the secondary cooler provided with hollow fins, a liquid spreader positioned in each of said finned passages and lying within the path of entering liquid, a thermostatic element positioned in the primary cooler adjacent said water inlets and adapted to be connected to a thermostatlc valve for controlling the ow of refrigerant to and from said coolers.

HERMAN K. JOHNSON.

CARL V. LA RUE. 

